Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is deepening his political footprint in the state of Iowa this week, endorsing 11 new candidates for office in the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state.

Huckabee, who rode a burst of late momentum to win the 2008 Iowa caucuses, is endorsing three incumbent state representatives — Dwayne Alons, Chris Hagenow and Jason Schultz — for reelection, and adding his support to the reelection bids of U.S. Reps. Steve King and Tom Latham.

Huckabee’s also backing a group of challengers, including Brenna Findley, a lawyer and former congressional aide running for attorney general, and state Sen. Brad Zaun, who’s running against Democratic Rep. Leonard Boswell. Rounding out Huckabee’s endorsement list are state Rep. Kent Sorenson, who is running for state Senate, and state House candidates Kim Pearson, Tom Shaw and Jane Hodoly.

The endorsements are Huckabee’s first since the Iowa Republican primaries; he has already backed Sen. Chuck Grassley and state Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey for reelection. Huckabee’s favored candidate for governor, conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats, lost in the June 8 gubernatorial primary to former Gov. Terry Branstad.

On Monday, The Iowa Republican, a political website in the crucial caucus state, published a poll showing that Huckabee holds an early edge among Republican Party regulars there. The survey of 399 likely GOP voters showed Huckabee taking 22 percent of the vote in a presidential trial heat, with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney taking 18 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in third with 14 percent.

Huckabee’s new move into Iowa comes in the wake of a major victory for the former Arkansas governor in last week’s primary elections. Huckabee gave a late endorsement and made a last-minute campaign trip for former Rep. Nathan Deal in Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial primary; Deal defeated Sarah Palin-backed candidate Karen Handel by less than half a percentage point.

Huckabee has not indicated definitively whether he will pursue another presidential campaign in 2012. But the former Arkansas governor has taken several steps in recent weeks that suggest he is at least leaving open the possibility, laying the groundwork for a national effort in the event he decides to enter the race.

In addition to his umbrella political action committee, HuckPAC, Huckabee has established state-based PACs in California and Florida. During the second fundraising quarter of 2010, Huckabee raised $258,000 and shelled out some $70,000 to candidates he endorsed. He backed a total of 52 candidates in 14 states between April and June.

Those numbers still put Huckabee behind several other Republican presidential hopefuls in terms of organizational muscle. Romney’s Free and Strong America PAC raised $1.8 million in the second quarter of the year, allowing the former Massachusetts governor to blanket the 2010 campaign trail with donations. Palin’s SarahPAC brought in $866,000 over the same period and Pawlenty’s PAC, Freedom First, raised a strong $724,000.

Still, Huckabee’s grasp on Iowa remains formidable as other candidates begin to test their messages there. Just last week, both Gingrich and Pawlenty attended the Iowa state fair. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, a long-shot prospect who’s been a frequent presence in early primary states, is in the state this week.